Very sad news

My oldest fish, a bala shark I purchased sometime in the spring of 2004, has been critically injured for reasons unknown. This morning I found him stuck to an aquaclear filter intake. The area behind his head is lacerated in what appears to be damage from the sharp filter screen. A healthy fish does not get caught in a filter so I don't know what happened; there are no signs of bites or damage from the other fish, and the bala has always been left alone.

He's quarantined now in a 1 gallon net at the top of the tank. He's floating upside down but still breathing. He's pulled through with some serious damage before to his fins, but this is extreme. Imagine your back and chest catching the flak from a pipe bomb with deep cuts to all your extremities.

Times like these I always wonder if I had bought some silver dollars on Saturday then this may not have happened.

joshday.com